The first update blog from Black Sheep.
First and most important message to all family and friends, everyone is safe
and enjoying the trip.
After a good start we did have a minor concern, following a routine check of
the bilges we found six inches of water in the bottom. A quick taste check
to see if it was salt water or drinking water determined it was salt water,
not a good sign. We started a search to see where it was coming in from and
had mixed views when we found we were in fact pumping it in ourselves. A
pipe had burst on the water maker and we were busy pumping water from the
sea into the boat, not ideal. We have managed to fix the problem via true
sailing bodge tactics, i.e. obtained some pipe from elsewhere, namely the
roving bilge pump now reaches a shorter distance! All is now well, we can
make water without pumping sea water in.
Only other good and bad to report is we are all currently sewing the A2
spinny between the watch shifts. Its safe to say we left it up too long,
after rounding up twice we decided it was time for it to come down,
unfortunately before we achieved it, we rounded up again, broached, blew the
tack and by the time the drama was over we had a 10 foot split in it. The
good news apart from the fact it is nearly repaired, is despite the above
events which lost us some time, we still posted a 202 mile day. Not bad for
a 36 foot boat. We then bettered it today with a 220 mile day.
Black Sheep Out